Former Nigeria captain, John Mikel Obi, has said he believes Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi is a better player than Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as the best players in the world, having dominated the game for the last decade.
Still unstoppable at the age of 37, Ronaldo has scored 699 goals and holds the record for most international goals (117).
Messi, 34, has 681 goals for Barcelona and PSG, while he has scored 88 times when representing Argentina.
The two superstars have won 12 Ballon d’Or honours between themselves and several league titles and continental competitions.
While playing for Chelsea and Nigeria, Mikel Obi has come up against both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
But when asked who the better player among the two is, Mikel Obi told Naija FM: “Messi.”
Mikel’s first encounter with Messi came at the FIFA under-20 World Youth Championship in 2005, where the Flying Eagles lost to Argentina in the final.
Mikel faced Messi again at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.